Doctor of the University
A multi award-winning businesswoman, diversity proponent and youth advocate.
With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, Vanessa Kingori OBE has a special focus on business transformation, digitalisation and change management. Through her work she emphasises diversity of perspective, social responsibility and female empowerment.
Vanessa has worked at Conde Nast for 15 years. Her appointment to British Vogue’s Publishing Director in 2017 made history. She is British Vogue’s first female business lead in its 100+ year history. She is also Conde Nast Britain’s first and only business lead of colour.
Vanessa’s role at British Vogue has involved a significant shift in the brand’s purpose and business strategy. In her first year, Vanessa helped lead the team to its most successful digital revenue in the website’s 30-year history, with a +95% revenue increase year-on-year. Simultaneously, she maintained British Vogue’s large print revenue, as well as leading the team to an increase of 750% in profits year-on-year for British Vogue events. Business success at Vogue has continued every year since.
This unprecedented success led Conde Nast Britain (CNB) to create a role specifically for her - Chief Business Officer. Vanessa now leads the business of all ten CNB brands - Vogue, GQ, Wired, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Tatler, Conde Nast Traveller, Johansens, House & Garden and The World of Interiors.
She continues to directly lead British Vogue, while her role has been further expanded to support the Vogue brand across Europe as Vogue’s European Advisor.
Previously, Vanessa was Publisher of British GQ, also signalling many firsts for the company (first woman, first person of colour, youngest publisher). Vanessa's first full year in the role was British GQ’s most successful year of revenue generation for a decade and her tenure saw the brand win several digital commercial awards.
Vanessa is a prolific public speaker. Her most frequent requests are from FTSE 100 companies to share her thoughts on digital transformation, change management and purpose in business. This includes speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Google/YouTube, McKinsey and many more.
Vanessa has topped Campaign’s Top 10 Trailblazers 2020 and Top 10 Commercial Chiefs in Britain 2021. She has been credited among the 100 Most Influential Black Britons every year for the past eight years. Her social equity work and services to British Media led her to be awarded an MBE in 2016 and an OBE in 2023.
As a youth advocate, Vanessa has sat on the University of the Arts London’s Board of Directors as a Governor and Trustee. She enjoys a long-standing role as Visiting Fellow, supporting and mentoring students across the institution’s six colleges.
Vanessa now sits on the Board of the Royal Opera House and Royal Ballet - supporting the arts community during a challenging period of reduced funding and helping them become future-proof by transforming their earning potential.
As a diversity proponent, Vanessa sits on the leadership committee of a microfund, Peanut StartHer, which helps pre-seed female entrepreneurs in tech and business – especially those who are purpose-driven.
Vanessa is also a member of The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Race Equality Taskforce.
At the height of the anti-racist uprising in 2020, Vanessa organised and led #SHARETHEMICUK to highlight the accomplishments and contribution of high achieving Black women, using the allyship of successful White women. The project was backed by Instagram and reached a combined audience of over 175 million on the platform alone, together with a huge amount of media coverage.
Participants included Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham, Sheryl Sandberg, Christiane Amanpour, Bernadine Evaristo, Priya Ahluwalia, Bianca Saunders, June Sarpong, Emma Dabiri, Kourtney Kardashian, and Brooke Shields. It helped to launch several exciting new collaborations, inspiring conversations, books, podcasts and new friendships between unlikely pairings.
Vanessa has been part of the judging panel of the Black British Business Awards, the Veuve Clicquot Business Women of The Year Award, and the TfL Diversity in Advertising competition.